Patrick is also supporting Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell's preliminary application for $500 million in stimulus funds to establish high-speed commuter rail service between New Haven and Springfield.

"By investing in a strengthened high speed rail network, we will be supporting economic development and smart growth, connecting our vibrant urban areas and providing people with the opportunity to move more quickly throughout New England," Patrick said in a prepared statement Monday.

There is about $8 billion in stimulus money available nationwide for high speed rail projects between cities.

Rebecca M. Townsend, of Longmeadow, a founder and member of Pioneer Valley Advocates for Rail, said she is confident the states will win stimulus money for the projects.

"The upgrades are so needed that it will come along," she said.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation said the stimulus money would be used to upgrade tracks to provide speeds of up to 110 miles per hour, repair bridges and improve signals and grade crossings between New Haven and Springfield.

Connecticut wants to start construction in 2012 and complete improvements in 2017. The high-speed trains would provide 10 round trips each weekday, according to the application by Connecticut.

Last week in Washington, D.C., Patrick and Massachusetts Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi discussed the state's plans for expanded commuter rail with Raymond LaHood, the secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In a separate move, the governors of New England states announced on Monday they have agreed on a plan to integrate transportation projects across the region so the states can better compete for the stimulus dollars.

The Patrick administration submitted a preliminary application for $95 million to re-route the Vermonter, an Amtrak service that provides one trip in each direction daily between St. Albans, Vt., and Washington, D.C., via Springfield and New Haven. The administration is also seeking to provide more frequent train service on the line.

The Vermonter now travels through Palmer, Amherst and East Northfield before reaching St. Albans.

The administration, supported by Vermont state officials, is proposing to place the Vermonter on the Connecticut River Line between Springfield and East Northfield. New stations would be located in Greenfield and Northampton.

The new alignment would end service to the Amherst station, but would speed the trip to Vermont and serve Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield, according to a study by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

The Patrick administration also filed a preliminary application for $500 million for engineering and environmental studies and other work, including upgrading tracks, for commuter rail between Worcester and Springfield.

"We are aggressively pursuing a strengthened high speed rail network throughout Massachusetts and collaboratively with the other states throughout New England," said Colin Durrant, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Transportation. "It's a major step forward that will change the face of rail transportation."

Massachusetts leaders in Washington are backing the state's applications.

"Investment in passenger and high speed rail will stimulate economic growth in the region, create more jobs and promote a cleaner environment," U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said.